I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 1495, the "Water Resources
Development Act of 2007."

This bill lacks fiscal discipline. I fully support funding for water
resources projects that will yield high economic and environmental returns
to the Nation and each year my budget has proposed reasonable and
responsible funding, including $4.9 billion for 2008, to support the Army
Corps of Engineers' (Corps) main missions. However, this authorization
bill makes promises to local communities that the Congress does not have a
track record of keeping. The House of Representatives took a $15 billion
bill into negotiations with a $14 billion bill from the Senate and instead
of splitting the difference, emerged with a Washington compromise that
costs over $23 billion. This is not fiscally responsible, particularly
when local communities have been waiting for funding for projects already
in the pipeline. The bill's excessive authorization for over 900 projects
and programs exacerbates the massive backlog of ongoing Corps construction
projects, which will require an additional $38 billion in future
appropriations to complete.

This bill does not set priorities. The authorization and funding of
Federal water resources projects should be focused on those projects with
the greatest merit that are also a Federal responsibility. My
Administration has repeatedly urged the Congress to authorize only those
projects and programs that provide a high return on investment and are
within the three main missions of the Corps' civil works program:
facilitating commercial navigation, reducing the risk of damage from floods
and storms, and restoring aquatic ecosystems. This bill does not achieve
that goal. This bill promises hundreds of earmarks and hinders the Corps'
ability to fulfill the Nation's critical water resources needs -- including
hurricane protection for greater New Orleans, flood damage reduction for
Sacramento, and restoration of the Everglades while diverting
resources from the significant investments needed to maintain existing
Federal water infrastructure. American taxpayers should not be asked to
support a pork-barrel system of Federal authorization and funding where a
project's merit is an afterthought.

I urge the Congress to send me a fiscally responsible bill that sets
priorities. Americans sent us to Washington to achieve results and be good
stewards of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars. This bill violates that
fundamental commitment. For the reasons outlined above, I must veto H.R.
1495.